


next to godliness

by BeautifulSoup



Category: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: Bathing/Washing, Domestic Fluff, Family Fluff, Gen, Gentleness, M/M, Pre-Epilogue, The Raven King Spoilers, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, any and all fluff tags, water phobia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-10
Updated: 2016-11-10
Packaged: 2018-08-30 06:33:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,202
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8522287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BeautifulSoup/pseuds/BeautifulSoup
Summary: Trying to get any child into a bath is difficult. Trying to get a behooved dream girl with a traumatic experience of water is even more so.
Adam and Ronan try their best.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Complete and utter fluff. I felt a lot of people could do with something like this after the last couple of days.

Given that her only known exposure to anything like it had been the acid pool in Cabeswater, Adam supposed it was understandable that Opal seemed to have an aversion to water.

He didn’t blame her, but over two weeks on the smell was becoming difficult to ignore.

Her previously grey sweater was now streaked with black and brown and red, and Adam was fairly sure he didn’t want to know where most of the stains had come from. Her pale skin was turning dark with grime that was becoming ingrained.

Blue said it was tantamount to child abuse, and Adam wasn’t so sure she was wrong.

The problem was getting Opal near the bath.

He and Ronan had spent hours trying to get her over her fear, running taps in the kitchen, letting her see them washing their hands and their faces, spraying each other with the hose outside the cow barn. Blue, Gansey and Henry had been trying, too, but with even less success. Opal still regarded anyone other than Ronan or Adam with a wariness Adam couldn’t figure out. Maura and Calla, the only people they knew with any experience of parenting and trusted with Opal’s strangeness, didn’t seem to be able to help either.

Hooved dream-girls were not quite the same as human children, it would seem.

One glorious morning they managed to convince her to take her sweater off, and washing that helped a bit with the smell. The problem was that putting a clean shirt over a dirty body was a bit like painting over damp. It wouldn’t do a damn thing in the long run.

So they kept up their long programme of exposure therapy, Opal getting steadily nearer the water.

October turned to November, the leaves around Henrietta turned from orange to brown and fell from their trees. At the Barns they stayed on branches, as saturated in their reds and oranges as the fields were violently green in the summer. Still Opal would slink away from the hiss of a faucet.

“Hey,” Adam said to her one night, more out of habit than any real hope. “I’m going for a bath. Wanna come?” To his surprise, she blinked her large dark eyes up at him and nodded almost imperceptibly. So he held his hand out to her and led her to the bathroom.

The bathroom in the Barns was large, comfortable, and warm. The bath was long and deep. Adam had found that he could stretch right out in it without his toes touching the end. He had also found out that Ronan could do the same, and that they could both do it at the same time, and quickly afterwards had discovered that the bathmat completely absorbed all spilt water without ever getting waterlogged.

Adam worked slowly as he got ready, turning the taps so that the bath would fill reasonably quickly but would not hiss and splutter, adding a drop of some sort of bubble-bath that glinted in the sunlight he found on the windowsill. The weight of it in his hands and the smell of freshly cut grass when he opened it told him it was a dream thing, and he wondered if it was from Ronan’s or Niall’s head. It foamed immediately and ridiculously, pulling a laugh from Adam. He felt Opal’s small hand on his waist as she peered around him to find out the cause of his amusement.

While they waited for the bath to fill, Adam sat on the closed toilet lid and talked to Opal, trying to distract her. She had never stayed in the bathroom this long.

“Right,” he said, reaching over to turn off the tap. “I’m getting in.” Her eyebrows pulled into a worried furrow. He pressed his thumb to the crease between them and smiled. “It’s alright, you don’t have to.”

He stripped off quickly and slipped into the water with a sigh. No matter which tap he ran, the water in the tub was always exactly the right temperature to soothe his aching muscles. He closed his eyes and let himself sink down until his chin was just above the water.

“Kerah?” Opal’s voice was quiet and timid. Adam opened his eyes to look at her.

“He’ll be back soon,” he said, offering her his hand. “He’s just feeding the hens.” She looked at his wet, bubble-coated hand with a frown.

Adam thought of the afternoon Ronan had shown him around his land. They had come across a herd of deer grazing in the overgrown pastures near the edge of the forest. They had raised their heads as one at their approach and taken a few steps back, but had not run. _“I’m trying to tame them,”_ Ronan had said, and fondness had burst through Adam’s lungs. _“Look.”_ And he had taken some pellets from his pocket and held his hand out. One of the deer had stepped forward cautiously, edging towards them warily. Moving slowly and deliberately, without looking away from the deer, Ronan had handed Adam some of the pellets. Adam had been amazed at Ronan’s patience, but had long been discovering that petulance and impulse weren’t really what ruled Ronan. Not here.

Watching Opal creeping towards him gave him the same feeling as that deer coming tentatively forwards to nibble the food from Ronan’s palm.

Opal’s hand landed gently in his, and he smiled at her wide and open and pleased. He squeezed gently, and didn’t pull her any further forward.

“See?” He said, moving his other hand through the water to make small waves but not splashes. “It’s fine. You’re doing so well.”

She brought her other hand up to chew at the band of Adam’s watch while she glared at the water. The face of the watch was tilted towards him, so Adam knew that this went on for twenty minutes.

“ _Temptabo_ ,” she said, uncertain, and pulled her hand away. She pulled her sweater over her head and dumped it beside Adam’s clothes. Her skullcap came off with it, but she didn’t seem to notice.

As she stepped closer to the bath she held her hand out for Adam to take again, and as he did he saw her lip trembling. She looked so much smaller without the oversized clothes. Her ribs showed through her pale skin, and Adam felt something twist in his heart.

“ _Vos autem fortes_ ,” he said, as gently as he could. He held her steady with hands on her ribs as she stepped in. He wasn’t sure what kind of grip her hooves would have on the smooth enamel of the tub.

As her first hoof touched the surface of the water just enough to cause a ripple, she flinched and jerked away. She didn’t run, though, and Adam felt a surge of pride in her for that. Instead, she took a few deep breaths and slowly dipped her leg in once more. Her face screwed up in a wince, but she kept going until her hoof hit the bottom of the tub with a _clang_.

She opened one eye and then the other and looked down at her leg, which was mostly submerged in the bath. Adam grinned at her and she smiled back uncertainly.

“You can do it,” he said, urging her along more now. He couldn’t believe it was happening, and it took all his self-control not to push her to move more quickly.

She swallowed and lifted her other leg. He helped her keep her balance, taking more of her weight. She didn’t take as long to get her other leg in, and when she finally stood in front of him, water lapping around her knees, her smile was proud. She took a minute or two to steel herself – Adam could see it in her eyes – before slowly sitting down.

“Well done,” Adam said, “you are so amazing!” His enthusiasm was genuine as he leaned forward to cup her cheek. This made her flinch, and he backed away immediately, apologising.

Adam didn’t know how long they sat just looking at each other, as his watch was now underwater. He tried not to flinch at the thought of it waterlogged and ruined. It wasn’t really his anymore.

Eventually, he slowly reached for the sponge and started washing his arms. He did it gently, carefully, letting her watch. She started laughing when he reached his shoulder, just a gentle giggle that seemed to bubble up against her will. He looked up and smiled at her. She held her hand out to him, and he carefully handed her the sponge.

“Don’t eat it,” he said, trying to be stern but failing. She just grinned at him and snatched it from his hand. She squeezed it, jumping a little when the water poured from it, but quickly looked back to him. She held out her other hand, and after a moment of wondering what exactly she wanted, put his hand in hers. He laughed as she started scrubbing his skin with the sponge and a ferocious grin.

“Jesus Mary.” Adam and Opal both looked over at the sound of Ronan’s voice. His hands were in his pockets and the corner of his mouth was twitching. “How the hell did you manage that?”

“She decided I needed a bath,” Adam said with a shrug. Ronan laughed and perched himself on the edge of the tub. He leaned over and messed up Opal’s hair with his hand.

“Well done, brat.” He said to her. She grinned up at him and gave him the sponge. He smiled at it, and immediately squashed it into Adam’s face.

“Unnecessary,” Adam spluttered as he pushed Ronan’s arm away, but their laughter took the heat from it. When Adam wiped the water from his eyes, Ronan was softly swiping the sponge along Opal’s arm. His face was sharp with concentration but his hands were gentle. His voice was soft as he murmured words Adam couldn’t quite hear to Opal.

By the time Opal was clean and wrapped in the fluffiest towel Ronan could find (which was very fluffy indeed, and definitely pulled from a dream), Adam’s fingers and toes were wrinkled and Ronan’s clothes were soaked. Adam took a picture of Opal wrapped in the towel, grinning with her wet hair plastered to her head, and sent it to Gansey with Ronan’s phone, then changed into his pyjamas.

“Come here, you horror!” Ronan’s voice came from downstairs, followed shortly after by a clatter and wild laughter. Adam allowed himself a moment to close his eyes and treasure the peace before it shattered, then went downstairs. Opal, still clutching the towel around herself, was standing on the kitchen island grinning down at Ronan, who was holding something flannel.

Adam took a deep breath before wading into the battle.

It took both of them to wrestle the towel from Opal’s shoulders, and then to get her into the pyjamas Ronan had found. She wriggled and shrieked with laughter the entire time, and Adam was exhausted by the end of it.

They settled on the couch, Adam and Ronan side-by-side and Opal sprawled across both of their laps. Ronan flicked on the TV to some show about bank robbers and threw his arm over Adam’s shoulders, then pressed a brief kiss to Adam’s cheek. It was such an easy, casual touch that it made Adam’s cheeks flush and his heart skip. He pressed himself closer to Ronan’s side and laid his head on his shoulder. It was only a matter of minutes before Opal started snoring softly. Ronan sighed and threw his head back as he gave a breathy laugh.

“Christ,” he said. “I am so fucking glad I’m not a single parent.” He caught Adam’s eyes, and the meaning behind them was clear. It didn’t make Adam panic, though, it only sent a rush of warmth through his chest and his limbs.

“I don’t know who gave you The Talk,” Adam said, because anything but levity seemed too much for his heart at that moment. “But I’m pretty sure most children aren’t pulled fully formed out of dreams. Also, I don’t think they have hooves.”

“Shitbag,” Ronan said as he tousled Adam’s damp hair. He pressed another kiss to his cheek, then just behind his ear. “You’re fucking amazing,” he said, his teeth grazing Adam’s ear. Adam laughed and pushed him away.

“Fuck off.” He laughed again as Ronan snapped his teeth. “We can carry on in that vein after you’ve put her to bed.” Adam yawned and stretched himself out on the sofa.

Ronan rolled his eyes and shifted Opal’s sleeping weight onto his arms. He looked at Adam stonily for a moment before he left with Opal. “You better not be asleep when I get back, Parrish, or I swear to god.”

“What?” Adam asked, eyes closed, letting what was definitely a shit-eating grin spread across his face. Ronan’s answer was only a grunt and receding footsteps.

He let himself settle into the quiet comfort of the house. The warmth of the fire, the background-murmur of the TV, the scent of the popcorn and cocoa they’d had earlier.

When Ronan returned, he found Adam snoring softly on the sofa.

 

**Author's Note:**

>  _Temptabo_ \- "I will try"  
>  _Vos autem fortes_ \- "You are very brave"
> 
> All Latin courtesy of Google Translate, if you have any notes/improvements do let me know!


End file.
